I am considering purchasing a Kenwood TS 590. From reviews of users I see conflicting reports about low ssb output and or lack of audio punch. I am hoping that if there was a problem in this area that Kenwood would have addressed it by now. Anybody out there have a late release 590 and an opinion?

I am considering purchasing a Kenwood TS 590. From reviews of users I see conflicting reports about low ssb output and or lack of audio punch. I am hoping that if there was a problem in this area that Kenwood would have addressed it by now. Anybody out there have a late release 590 and an opinion?

I think that 99% of these problems are due to operator error/not taking time to learn rig. Out of the box in plain vanilla configuration the audio is well below its potential. If you take time to learn rig and set audio up for your voice it will sound excellent. (there are 3 different settings for processor alone) I you are looking for a simple plug and play rig you would do better with a lessor rig.

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--------------------------------------Ham since 1969.... Old School 20 WPM Extra

I have one and I agree with W8JX. The TS-590S is a wonderful radio but it is relatively easy to mess up your TX audio by changing menu settings. I recommend that you either join the Yahoo group or search for and read the aftermarket documentation that various people have published about how to setup the audio. If you buy one used you may want to reset the rig to factory defaults and start from scratch.

I am considering purchasing a Kenwood TS 590. From reviews of users I see conflicting reports about low ssb output and or lack of audio punch. I am hoping that if there was a problem in this area that Kenwood would have addressed it by now. Anybody out there have a late release 590 and an opinion?

TS-590 it is darn good radio ...But you have to watch out for the ALC over shot. Be aware if you running AMP.

I am considering purchasing a Kenwood TS 590. From reviews of users I see conflicting reports about low ssb output and or lack of audio punch.

Plenty of users seem to be griping about the power out meter only showing 60-70W max on SSB. Several hams have demonstrated, using true peak-reading power meters, that 100-110W out is the true PEP reading across the HF ham bands for this rig on SSB. Other modes (FM, AM, and CW) will read the same whether measuring average or peak (PEP) power. There are at least a couple videos on YouTube accurately demonstrating this.

My view is that the meters on other rigs are of the usual "average power" type, but are compensated (that is, read 'average power' at about 40% higher) on SSB in order to read "correctly." The less likely reason is that all other rigs' meters (except the TS-590S's) are of the considerably more complex and expensive "peak power" (PEP) type.

But as long as you understand that this as a "quirk" and not a failing or flaw in the transceiver, you can dismiss any personal concerns and those other hams' SSB output gripes.

I believe that the chief challenge of this rig is getting your audio output quality optimized. There is such a strong subjective aspect to this, as well as the tremendous flexibility offered by this transmitter, that only time and experience and some on-air help from other honest and experienced hams can ultimately match your voice and microphone to the proper on-air conditions. My, how my TS-520S and TS-440S were SOOO simple in this regard!

We have to stop with this 'true PEP meter' nonsense, shown in all the forums or even the Tube whenever anyone talks about the TS-590 main problem.

Yes, the RF amplifier of the TS-590 does work fine, as CW or a true PEP meter show, but the ALC circuit is crippling it's talking power, or the compressor is not doing what it should.

When you compare the radio using a (bad) meter and any other radio, you will see what the problem is. You call CQ with the T590 and the average power is low. The needle stays between 10-60 (untrue) watts where any other radio will do 50-110 (untrue) watts.

If you insist that the problem is the meter, use the amperimeter in your power supply. 5-12 amperes at most compared to 10-25 amperes with any similar radio.

So where is the missing power?. In my opinion in some firmware update not released yet. Or some minor hardware mod TBA. Meanwhile, you could invest some time with the microphone/comp/menu setup while Kenwood addresses it. (If they ever do).

My FT-847 also suffered a similar low average power problem in it's time. It's very ineffective compressor was fixed turning an variable resistor inside the radio.

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